Nordstrom Inc. opened its first store location in Seattle, WA in 1901 with the business collaboration between John W. Nordstrom and his partner Carl Wallin (Wallin & Nordstrom, originally only a shoe store and shoe repair shop). The store’s ownership was then turned over to John W. Nordstrom’s sons after Nordstrom and Wallin retired.
· How has the business changed in the past 5-10 years?
With its recent partnership with online retailer FiftyOne Global Commerce, Nordstrom has aimed to penetrate global markets with its high-end fashion selection. Nordstrom Inc. has long been hailed as a top-tier fashion-retail company in the United States, and wishes to apply their same business model in their interaction …show more content…
aims to open more Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack stores throughout the United States. Nordstrom also aims to expand its presence on the online fashion-retail industry, competing with other fashion retail stores that already have good presence on the online market (Zara, H&M).
· What is the mission statement?
“At Nordstrom, our goal is to provide outstanding service everyday, one customer at a time.” ( http://retailindustry.about.com/od/retailbestpractices/ig/Company-Mission-Statements/Nordstrom-Stores-Mission-Statement.htm
· Are there plans to expand, penetrate, diversify, or change their retail format in the near future?
There are two new business practices Nordstrom Inc. aims to apply to their business model:
1) Online, “same-day delivery policy”: offers customers the ability to order fashion items from actual retail locations, and have purchases delivered to their addresses on the same day upon order.
2) Market expansion into Canada; fashion trends in consumerism in Canada has been well documented to show that fashion consumption patterns are very similar to consumers in the United States, which is why partnership with FiftyOne Global Commerce is vital to Nordstrom’s global expansion ( …show more content…
Typical amongst most fashion-retail stores, Nordstrom will carry inventory much earlier for their planned seasonal release (for instance, Nordstrom is selling off their “summer” inventory they received months ago, and are carrying their “autumn” inventory). A FIFO approach to their merchandise is the best choice considering the category mix involved with their variety of brands; each brand with extensive variation of sizes, colors, and styles. This breadth of high quality products is perpetuated in Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale ( http://shop.nordstrom.com/c/anniversary-sale) and Half Yearly Sale ( http://seattle.cbslocal.com/2012/06/06/nordstrom-half-yearly-sale-for-men-starts-june-15/), which serve as highly contributive events to sustain the company’s competitive